White job applicants should be given preference over foreign black candidates, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana said this week, as foreign nationals were not targeted for affirmative action under the Employment Equity Act.

While the elimination of unfair discrimination in the workplace applied to all employers and employees, affirmative action provisions applied only to designated employers and individuals from designated groups such as blacks, women and people with disabilities.

Mr Mdladlana said in a written reply to a parliamentary question by Inkatha Freedom Party MP Peter Smith that employers were required to record and report on foreign nationals separately. “Where a South African black candidate is not available for a post, and if all things are equal, the South African white candidate should receive preference.”

Mr Smith explained that his question was prompted by reports, especially from academia, that universities in KwaZulu- Natal opted to fill posts with black non- South African academics rather than suitably qualified white people. There were also reports last year that Eskom had recruited black Americans as managers “who sat at desks and did nothing” to boost their affirmative action figures.

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